Further Requirements for Licensure

Requirements for ABFSE

The Department of Funeral Service Education Bachelor of Science Degree - Funeral Service

the University of Central Oklahoma is accredited by the

American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE)

The annual passage rate of first-time takers on the National Board Examination (NBE) for the most recent three-year period for this institution and all ABFSE accredited funeral service education programs is posted on the ABFSE web site (www.abfse.org).

State Requirements

Employment as a funeral director/embalmer is also dependent upon state requirements.

Oklahoma and most other states require:

• Completion of the Degree Program (or Funeral Service Certificate* Program) in Funeral Service

• Attaining a passing score on the National Board Examination

• Completing the appropriate licensure procedure with the state. (Check with the state in which you intend to practice well in advance of graduation)

(At least (40) credit hours of work applied toward all bachelor degrees must be from upper division (3000/4000) courses.  This is to include at least fifteen (15) upper division hours in the major.)

The examination and the licensing process result in additional expenses to the student and are determined by the appropriate agencies.  The expenses are not affiliated with the UCO Funeral Service Department and are expenses of all graduates seeking licensure.

Steps to licensure in Oklahoma

For detailed information regarding Oklahoma licensure requirements, please visit the Oklahoma Funeral Board.

Minimum Requirements for the State of Oklahoma

Qualifications for Licensing Individuals (Oklahoma Funeral Board)
Section 235:10-3-1.
To be licensed in Oklahoma as a funeral director, embalmer, or both, an individual must meet the following
minimum requirements:
     (1) The individual must be twenty (20) years of age.
     (2) The individual must be of good moral character.
     (3) The individual must not have any felony convictions.
     (4) The individual must not have had any misdemeanor convictions related to funeral service or pertaining to
           the custody, care or disposal of dead human remains, or unfair trade practices, or fraud.
     (5) The individual must be a legal resident of Oklahoma, and a citizen of the United States, or a permanent
           resident of the United States.
     (6) The individual shall have completed the following educational requirements:
          (A) The individual is a graduate of a program of mortuary science accredited by the American Board
                of Funeral Service Education.
          *(B) The individual shall have completed a total of sixty (60) college semester hours of credit
             at an accredited institution of higher education.
                (i) Such institution must be accredited by a regional accrediting agency and recognized by the
                     U.S. Department of Education as a valid and legal accrediting agency.
                (ii) When the institution so accredited extends credit in quarter hours, each quarter hour shall
                      equal 2/3rds of one semester hour.
                (iii) Courses applied to completing the accredited mortuary science program in excess of the
                      minimum requirements for an accredited program by the American Board of Funeral Service
                      Education may be applied to the (60) total semester hours of college, provided such credits
                      are earned at a regionally accredited institution.
          (7) Individuals who have earned a bachelor degree in funeral service from a regionally accredited
                institution and American Board of Funeral Service Education accredited mortuary program shall have
                been deemed to have met the educational requirements set for in sections (A) and (B).
          (8) The individual shall have successfully passed the National Board Examination of the International
                Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards with an average grade of seventy five percent
                (75%) or better on the Arts section for applicants for a funeral director license, and applicants for
                a embalmers license shall have earned an average of seventy five percent (75%) or better on the
                Science section.
          (9) The individual shall have successfully passed the Oklahoma Law examination with a grade of seventy
                five percent (75%) or better. The Oklahoma Law examination shall cover the Oklahoma Funeral
                Services Licensing Act and the Prepaid Funeral Benefits Act, and the Rules of the Board. The
                Oklahoma law written examination shall not be administered until the applicant has completed all
                educational requirements and other examination requirements with proof of such completion on file
                in the Board office. Rejection of an application to take the written examination for failure
                to complete educational requirements, or failure to file proper proof of completion of educational
                requirements is not appealable to the Board.
          (10) The applicant must have paid any and all fees due and payable prior to licensing.
          (11) The individual must have served and completed an embalmer and/or funeral director
                  apprenticeship(s) in the State of Oklahoma or has completed an apprenticeship the Board
                  determines to be substantially equivalent to that required by Oklahoma.
          (12) Once all requirements set forth above have been met, the individual may apply for a license as
                  a funeral director, embalmer, or both.